Technologies in HP ProLiant Gen8 c-Class server blades

HP Smart Drive hot-plug drive carrier

The ProLiant Gen8 Smart Drive hot-plug drive carrier (Figure 5) includes several improvements that are consistent

throughout the c-Class server blade family.

Figure 5.

 Improved drive status indication

 Intuitive icon based display

 Minimized data loss and improved serviceability

 Do not remove LED to minimize human error (helps prevent data loss due to wrong drive removal)

The Smart Drive Carrier now includes a Do Not Remove icon to help you “choose wisely” and never remove the wrong

drive. The light automatically illuminates to indicate drives that are not operating in a redundant condition, which could

cause a fault condition if removed. The smaller size of the carrier is designed to improve airflow for system cooling and,

in some cases, allows additional drive bays to be incorporated into the system. The carrier has many other capabilities

including verification that the drive is genuine HP equipment. This ensures that our customers have the comfort of

knowing that HP is protecting them. In addition, the new Smart Carrier data collection is tied closely to Active Health to

help you rapidly identify issues when they occur.

NOTE: Hot-plug drives for ProLiant G7 and previous servers are not compatible with Gen8 servers

FlexibleLOM

Servers with network adapter ports embedded on the system board are referred to as using LAN-on-motherboard (LOM)

architecture. LOM architecture results in an efficient system design that does not require an add-on option for network

functionality. Servers with LOM architectures offer optimum cost-to-performance solutions, if the network adapter

ports embedded on the server’s system board meets your specific network requirements.

However, the “one size fits all” LOM strategy can create issues. For instance, if the LOM on your server does not match

your network infrastructure exactly, you will either have to settle for something less than you wanted, purchase add-in

cards to meet your needs, or not use all the features that you purchased. Even if the LOM meets current needs, your